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Englishman takes World Sand Golf title |
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March 9, 2004; Source: AnyoneForTee.com Owen burns up the desert with course record 64! By AnyoneForTee's desert correspondent, Sandy Lie (AnyoneForTee is the unofficial alternative media for the event, bringing you hole by hole, or brown by brown, coverage.) |
ABU DHABI, UAE. Englishman Greg Owen became the first World Sand Golf Champion at the Al Ghazal Golf Club in Abu Dhabi with a superb 7 under par round of 64, a course record which included five successive birdies on the back nine. As he received his trophy and a gold ingot worth $10.000 from the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Civil Aviation and Patron of Al Ghazal Golf Club, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, 32 year old Owen was moved to comment "This is the first time I've won on sand since I triumphed in the annual sandcastle competition at Skegness for three to five year olds. As long as I stay in the bunkers in future, I'm looking good!"Owen triumphed over a field of 32 top European professionals, including Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam (7 major championships between them), current world no. 12 Padraig Harrington, and a total of 25 European Tour winners from 20 different countries.  Second place went to Norwegian Henrik Bjornstad, who told Anyone For Tee "It was my first time out on sand and it turned out to be a lot trickier than I thought. I had trouble on the 'browns', which meant I was one over after four holes." 'Browns' are the sand golf equivalent of greens, made from a mixture of oil and sand, and provide an extremely true, if somewhat slow, putting surface. "I couldn't read the grains at all," explained Bjornstad, "there were just too many of them." Others, however, were full of praise for the work of the brownkeepers. "I just love the way putts hold the line," said Greg Owen, adding that he would like to be able to practise on sand 'greens' all the time. The players also appreciated the fact that they did not have to contend with spike marks on the browns after the passage of 32 pros and their 96 amateur partners, as a brownkeeper steps forward after every party has putted out to brush the sand for the group behind.The 17th hole was, for the occasion, called the "Off Road Hole", and specially adapted Land Rovers were available to give the teams a chance to explore the sand dunes. Ian Poulter of England, currently lying 7th in the Volvo Order of Merit, managed an eagle on the hole, and celebrated by giving his Land Rover "a blast up the hill". It is not known if he put a sticker in the back window saying "My other car is a Ferrari".  He did however try out a new hairstyle (left) which he is contemplating adopting for the US Masters next month. The Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, Hootie Johnson, has let it be known that Arsenal supporter Poulter's trade mark bright red hairstyle will not go down well on the members' hallowed fairways, so Poulter is thinking of switching to Masters green to keep the committee happy. "It'll go nicely with the green jacket too," he told Anyone For Tee. Nick Faldo (right) was another player making the most of his surroundings and the facilties on offer. His final position eight shots behind the winner may have had less to do with his driving of the golf ball than with his off-road driving. "I got carried away in the 4x4 and forgot about the ball! It was great fun out there," he said, after driving right over his golf ball on the 17th, leaving the worst plugged lie in the history of golf. The Irish seem to like the desert, with Padraig Harrington recording a 67 and Paul McGinley a 68. McGinley, who had earned €178,000 the day before by being runner-up to Mark O'Meara in the Dubai Desert Classic, could almost certainly have scored better, had his game not been dragged down by having Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Deputy Managing Director Dan 'The Man' Cappell in his team.Dan (right - the first Anyone For Tee reader to correctly identify from his swing whether he is right- or left-handed wins a free bucket and spade), who is Vice-President of AFT's Duffers Golf Club Travel Retail Chapter, was described by spectators as looking "as though he was digging for new oil and gas reserves for Abu Dhabi" with his swing, and shifted more sand in his round than the desert winds in a week.  Padraig Harringon hit a drive 390 yards, which would have gone further had a tree not got in its way, and he so much enjoyed the large, divot-like astroturf mats used for play off the 'fairway' that he asked to take one home to help him to practise his chipping. Well, it's the obvious thing to take back to Ireland from the desert, isn't it?Every player who came in off the course confirmed that he had had the time of his life and praised the unique opportunity, which could now turn into a sought-after annual rendez-vous in the professional golfing calendar. It was a bold initiative by Abu Dhabi Duty Free, as Deputy Managing Director Dan Cappell explained: "It was always going to be a nerve racking question... Would the pros enjoy the sand and would they burn the course up? The net result was that many pros have vowed to return if invited, the course record was broken by one shot, and the event has established Sand Golf on a world platform and can only evolve and get better in the years to come."  And what of Anyone For Tee's favourite amphibious Frenchman? Jean Van de Velde put in an admirable performance with a 5 under par 66 to finish in joint 3rd place, but felt he could have done so much better. "I want to burn up ze course, not finish in ze Burn. But everywhere I look I see water, and I don't know where to 'it my ball. Now zey tell me zere is no water out zere. It is all a mirage! Oh la la...!"
Abu Dhabi World Sand Golf Championship 2004 Results Individual professional scores (Par 71):
In case you missed them, you can read our first report on the Abu Dhabi 2004 World Sand Golf Championship by clicking here, and our second report here.  |
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